Myanmar flood toll to increase as rains lash region

AFP, YANGON: The toll from flash floods and landslides in Myanmar after days of torrential rain is likely to rise, the UN warned Sunday, as monsoon downpours brought misery to thousands across the region. At least 27 people have been killed and more than 150,000 affected by flooding in Myanmar in recent days, with the government declaring the four worst-hit areas in central and western Myanmar as “national disaster-affected regions”. Scores have also perished in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam following floods and landslides triggered by heavy seasonal rains. Rescue work in Myanmar has been hampered by continued downpours and the inaccessibility of many of the remote regions worst hit by the deluges. In Kalay, one of the worst-hit towns in the country’s northwest Sagaing region, floodwaters on Sunday reached the roofs of houses and above the height of some coconut trees, an AFP photographer at the scene said. An official at Myanmar’s Relief and Resettlement Department who asked not to be named told AFP that at least 166,000 people have now been affected by the floods.

 

 

Myanmar flood toll to increase as rains lash region

AFP, YANGON: The toll from flash floods and landslides in Myanmar after days of torrential rain is likely to rise, the UN warned Sunday, as monsoon downpours brought misery to thousands across the region. At least 27 people have been killed and more than 150,000 affected by flooding in Myanmar in recent days, with the government declaring the four worst-hit areas in central and western Myanmar as national disaster-affected regions. Scores have also perished in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam following floods and landslides triggered by heavy seasonal rains. Rescue work in Myanmar has been hampered by continued downpours and the inaccessibility of many of the remote regions worst hit by the deluges. In Kalay, one of the worst-hit towns in the countrys northwest Sagaing region, floodwaters on Sunday reached the roofs of houses and above the height of some coconut trees, an AFP photographer at the scene said. An official at Myanmars Relief and Resettlement Department who asked not to be named told AFP that at least 166,000 people have now been affected by the floods.